Folks,

I'm heading off for five days of R&R starting Thursday. I have made the conscious decision to unplug myself during this vacation and not take my laptop or stay tuned in to MMA news.  With that said, I will miss Friday night's EliteXC Strikeforce event featuring Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni.  In addition, I won't be watching Saturday night's TUF 5 Finale headlined by BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver. 

Therefore, I'm asking you the reader to help me out over the next couple of days.  Drop me a line by either posting to this blog or emailing me and let me know your thoughts on both events.  I will be relying on your accounts to get a feel for how the two events went and for fight breakdowns.  I'll post the best comments or emails on this blog sometime next week.

Before I go, I have culled some late-breaking news regarding the Shamrock-Baroni event.  Sherdog is reporting that Murilo Rua has passed his most recent physical and will be able to fight Joey Villasenor Friday night.  Rua had failed a physical last week.  In addition, Phil Baroni has also been cleared to fight in the headline bout after speculation that he might not be able to do so. 

And, finally MMA blogger Luke Thomas is reporting on his Bloody Elbow blog that Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett is in jail until July 16 for "felony charges regarding his violation of probation."  Bennett was scheduled to fight Victor Valenzuela on the June 22 card, but unless the bout is held in Bennett's jail cell, I don't see how this fight can take place.

Enjoy another exciting weekend of MMA action.  I'll be back next week!